In the New York Jets’ fourth game of the 2026 season, on a beautiful bright and sunny day at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois, the Jets fell to the Chicago Bears, 23 – 12.
The game opened with the Jets on defense. It did not go well. The Bears were pinned close to their own end zone to start the drive. It didn’t matter. Tyson Bagent took whatever he wanted against the Jets secondary, the Bears running game kept the ball moving, and the Bears went right down the field against token Jets resistance
until they had the ball inside the Jets one yard line. In an unlikely twist, the Jets defense suddenly became stout, putting up a great goal line stand and holding the Bears out of the end zone.
The Jets offense took over on downs at their one foot line. A three and out forced a Jets punt and the Bears marched right down the field again. Again the Jets defense put on a goal line stand before Kyle Monangai punched it in on fourth down for a touchdown and a 7 – 0 Bears lead late in the first quarter. The quarter ended with the Jets having the ball inside their own 30 yard line. At this point the Jets had been outgained 145 yards to 15. It wasn’t a promising start to the game.
The Jets went backward and were forced to punt. The Bears got the ball and started driving. Then something happened that hadn’t happened in forever and a day. Minkah Fitzpatrick intercepted a Tyson Bagent pass, the first Jets interception since 2024. The Jets got the ball deep in Bears territory but they couldn’t do much with the opportunity. The Jets drive fizzled and they had to settle for a Jason Sanders field goal. That made the score Bears 7, Jets 3 midway through the second quarter.
The Bears then drove the ball down the field, grinding away on the ground against a Jets defense that seemingly had few answers. After the Bears drive was stopped deep in Jets territory the Bears kicked a short field goal to take a 10 – 3 lead with just over two minutes left in the half.
The Jets took over in a two minute drill situation. Previous efforts this season in this situation did not bode well for the Jets. In another spectacular end of half possession by the Jets, they went three and out, with Geno Smith throwing a ball on third down that should have been intercepted.
The Bears took over on offense with just under two minutes left in the half, plenty of time to extend their lead. Unlike the Jets, the Bears are not completely incompetent in two minute drill situations. They drove the ball down inside the Jets 20 yard line before settling for a short field goal.
Jets went into the locker room at halftime down 13 -3. It could have been much worse after the Bears completely dominated the action. The Bears outgained the Jets in the first half 274 yards to 34. The Jets had five(!) net yards passing. It felt like the Bears could do whatever they wanted on offense and the Jets couldn’t do anything. Not being down by three touchdowns felt like a moral victory. If the Jets didn’t make some adjustments and find some answers at halftime this game could get out of hand quickly.
The Jets opened the third quarter on offense. They put together a couple of first downs on the ground before Geno Smith got sacked and the Jets were forced to punt. Then fortune smiled on the Jets. D’Andre Swift fumbled on the Bears’ next possession and the Jets recovered, giving the Jets the ball in scoring position. The Jets squandered a golden opportunity however, as they had to settle for a short field goal. The score was now Bears 13, Jets 6. The Jets were down by a touchdown despite winning the turnover battle 2 – 0. Not great Bob.
The Jets would soon pay for their inability to take advantage of their opportunities. On their next possession the Bears drove right down the field. Kyle Monagai ended the drive with his second touchdown run of the game as the Bears went up by two touchdowns at 20 – 6. At this point there was a little over two minutes left in the third quarter and the Jets defense had yet to force a Bears punt. The Bears turnovers were the only thing stopping the Bears from putting this game completely out of reach.
The Jets put together a brilliant three and out drive as the clock wound down in the third quarter. As the fourth quarter opened the Bears were on the move near midfield, leading by two touchdowns. A third straight Jets loss seemed all but inevitable. The Bears put together another scoring drive, getting inside the Jets five yard line before settling for a short field goal and a three score lead at 23 – 6 with 10 minutes left in the game.
The Jets then came to life on a quick 70 yard drive ending in a long Geno Smith touchdown pass to Isaiah Williams to get the Jets back within two scores with a little more nine minutes left. Jason Sanders botched the extra point to make the score Bears 23, Jets 12. The good feelings didn’t last.
The Bears proceeded to go on a long, grinding drive in which the Jets were helpless to stop the Bears running game. They ran out the clock with a more than 9 minute drive to end the game.
Final score: Bears 23, Jets 12.
This game was nowhere near as close as the final score indicated. The Bears completely shut down the Jets offense save for the one long touchdown pass to Isaiah Williams. The Bears offense was never forced to punt all game. Outside of a couple of turnovers the Bears offense took whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it. They outgained the Jets by more than 300 yards and put up more than 230 yards rushing against an overwhelmed Jets defense. You rarely see this level of domination in the NFL. It was a humiliating performance by a lifeless Jets team.
The loss brought the Jets’ record to 1-3. The Jets return home next week to take on a 3-1 first place Cleveland Browns team that is proving to be a much more formidable challenge than they seemed before the season began.
